Fastening device and method of making same



Patented Mar. 11, 1952 PATENT OFFICE -Fsszriim'ue Dev-16E Aminsrn MAKNG SAME The present invention relates to screws andlik'e fastening devices'having'a 'recess in theg'head thereof for engagement by a cooperativelyshaped driving tool. l

It'is a general objectof'the present `invention to'provide' a new and imprcvedmethd of mak..- ing a recessed screw headpof the type shown-fori example, in thel patent to Phillips et a1. 2,046,839, whereby theaccuracy of formation vofthe recess is more positively assured', the desired gripping action between the driver'bitand theV screw being thus 'more certainly attained.` i r More specifically it is'an 'objectof the invention to provide an improved methodcf manufacturing'recessed head screws'ofthe Phillips type whereby the recess isfo'rmedwth a greater degree of accuracy than is obtained by previously a. known methods," with the `result .that an imprved driving engagement is effected betweenthe cooperating surfaces of the screw recess and the driver bit.

Another object ofgtheinvention isitoprovide a new'and improved method l. of manufacturing 3 recessed head screws wherebythe. sidewalls" of the.. recesswill conform more accurately `tc the ,dimen-W sions and slope oi the surfaces of the punch from which it is formed`.

A further object ofgtheinventionis to provide d e rneansgoiri recessed head...s.erews. whereby.the.. A accuracy 0f fermetionpfthehead .andthe recess` 3o thereinmey .be more readily cheeked. .and deterf. minedthan isthe casewith recessed head screws as heretofore manufactured..

A further objectof the invention is toprovide a new and improved recessed head forscrew s 35 and thejlike fastening Adevices"wherebythe accuf` A raey oralienment of. the .drverengeeing 'c1.e =.e$. marhedetermined with. the .aid Oia relatively. Simple 'checking gauge makina-possible. e. tionin time required for setting up the heading 40l For e. eensidereten of. what. is beliered. corel an@ inventive, .attention isaiwccciq-rce fou@ ing*descriptionA take Ain connection with the y aeempanrine .drewi 45 .es While. novelty wiilwbepointedoutn th greater particulertyintlie. appended eieims.

. `.,2' fileere 3.1.5. illiltr. from which a screw blank is t Figuren is a new illust-laringe -paruauy formed Figure `5 vis an explanatory sectional view illu'sl" trating a scr'ewheadfina heading machine during the progressi of the' punching stroke;

Figure z6 is" a sectional view "corresponding to Figures but -snowrigthescrew head at the'enu of the punching stroke;

Figure" '7 4is a 'sectional View 'corresponding to Figure 6 but illustrating the manufactureof'a Figure 8 `is "a side elevation; partly in section,` r illustratingthe fmanner in which recessedhe'ad screws constructed in accordanc'ewith the present invention may be" checked for accuracy'of align-V ment'ofthe recess with the shank;

Figure 9 is a plan view offa recessedlfiathead screw illustrating a further e'ature'bf the present invention-:andi

Figure-1o is a. pianview 'cria defectiveiy'made? recessed round head screti illustrating a still fur-l` ther feature of the present invention;l

Referring now touthe drawings, in `Figuresi and .2 'a screw" is "shown in "enlarged detail 'come prisinga s'hanki andia headll formed on'the end. thereof, the head being provi'dedwitha recess f I2of the type described.' in greater `detail'in the'.1V Phillips etal.Patent'2,046,839; v.The recess I.2i"s Y of a, Egeneralcruciform shape in planand is dened' by alternate ygrooves IS and intermediates ribsfld adapted respectively'v to" acc'ommpdat'c` vanes and "channelspna vcoor'ieratively shapedr screw driver bit.`

of the materialfintogwhichthescrew is :driunli's prevented. 1 This typecf screw has madezp'ractical theuse iof thigh speed 'power screw drivers in `ase: sembling operations in `industry and thus'contributed to reducedimanfacturing costsxverygreatiy.

A lfurther 4important*feature of this type-'iota screw is thatiwhen the recess is accurately fOr'med;1 with. relationY "to the driveribit' the screw `will adhere to the'driverj due `to fri-cti'onal engagement" i, between the adjacent. surfaces of `.the recess andi the bit.; This; facilitates; the `driving operaticnf; in that ,it'isnet neeesearytehold'tlie:serewfwlth. i one ahailriwhilemanipulating.the driverwitti th .Qlllihus ng the parts Otherinstalztice .the sexen.; freed it may be used for positioru 3 which are to be fastened together or for steadying the workpiece into which the screw is driven. Again, the screw driver with the screw attached to the end thereof may be projected into relatively inaccessible locations where it would not be conveniently possible to hold by hand a screw of another type. Firm adherence of the screw onto the driver bit depends to a large degree upon the accuracy of formation of the recess and the driver bit, it being obvious that if there is any play between the cooperating surfaces the screw will fall from the driver if the driver is pointed downwardly. Driver bits for use with recessed screws of the Phillips type are normally manufactured by a milling process so that it is pos-- sible to produce then in quantity with a relatively high degree of uniformity and accuracy. The same is not true, however, as regards the manufacture of the screws which are normally produced by punching in a high speed automatic cold forging machine. For reasons to be pointed out more fully hereinafter it is dicult, particularly in the case of certain types of screws, to punch a recess in the head of a screw which will conform accurately to the contour of the punch. Thus even though the punch employed in the formation of the recess is of exactly the same size and shape as the tip of the driver bit, the screw will not always necessarily adhere to the end of the driver.

In accordance with the present invention it is possible to manufacture screws of any type head with a relatively high degree of accuracy whereby the recess will conform to the dimensions and shape of the punch and so that the screw will :Si

adhere in an improved manner onto the driver bit thus achievingA the full advantages in the use of the Phillips type screws.

A further factor of importance in the manufacture of screwsresides in the fact that it is inherently a rather diicult and painstaking procedure to set up the heading machine. Because of the multiplicity of different styles and sizes of screws it is necessary frequently to change the dies and punches of the machines to change over from the manufacture of one style or size to another. Then too, on certain head styles the punches have a relatively short life, due to wear, so that even on continued runs of a certain style or A.size of screw it is necessary to stop the machine occasionally for the replacement of the worn elements. Obviously every minute of time lost in changing dies and punches and in resetting the machine represents a considerable decrease in plant output and hence an ultimate increase in the cost of the product. With increasing labor costs careful attention must be directed to the matter of maintenance of production rates at maximum possible levels in order to insure minimum cost to the user.

While cold forging heading machines have been developed to ahigh degree of'mechanical perfection they are nevertheless difficult to set up and adjust when changing from one style or size of screw to another. The setting up procedure depends to a very large degree upon the skill of the machine operator since the nal adjustments are made by trial and error methods, that is, following each minor adjustment a num- ,ber of screws are produced, which are then checked for defects. Because of the complex shape of the Phillips type recess it is difficult to check the accuracy of its formation with-ordinary tools or gauges. Moreover the cost of checking or inspecting individual recesses under present manufacturing methods would be prohibitive. Therefore, the defects are frequently not detected prior to usage of the screws by the consumer at which time such defects are usually manifested either by excessive bit wear or by failure of the screw head. The nature and cause of these defects will be pointed out more fully hereinafter as well as the manner in which they are overcome by the present invention.

Referring now again to the drawings, the present invention consists in the provision of a circular groove I6 around the recess I2 and which is formed in the head simultaneously with the punching of the recess by the provision of a raised annular bead on the surface of the punching die around the base of the punch portion. The raised bead on the punch comes into play at the end of the punching stroke and serves to more accurately form the recess as will be described in connection with the explanatory views of Figures 3 to 7, inclusive.

In Figure 3 is shown a section I1 of straight wire from which the screw blank is formed and in Figure 4 is shown a partially formed blank following the first shaping operation in which one end of the section Il of wire is upset as in dicated at i8 preparatory to the recess punching step. The type of screw shown in the present drawings is known as a truss head. In this type, as well as in the case of binding head, flllister head, and certain other types of screws, the underside of the head makes a 90 angle with the axis of the screw shank or in other words, the anvil in which the blank is held during the punching operation is flat and without any concavity or depression adjacent the blank. In such cases there is comparatively little resistance t0 the lateral flow of the metal as the punch penetrates the partially formed head, and what is known vas a plowing action may take place, as seen in Figure 5.

In Figure 5 the screw blank 2B is shown held in the anvil 2| and with a conventional head forming punch 22 illustrated in a position approximately midway of its penetration of the upset end portion 24 of the screw blank. Due to the force of impact of the punch nib 23 the metal of the screw head tends to move away from the punch nib 23 as indicated at 25, particularly along the planes between the wings of the punch. As the punch proceeds to its limit position, the curved walls 26 of the punch will force the metal somewhat back against the punch nib'23 but, in many cases, not sufficiently to fill up all of the spaces therebetween. Thus while the shape of the recess formed will conform generally to the shape of the punch nib the upper portions of the sidewalls of the recess may nonetheless be spaced somewhat from the adjacent surfaces of the punch nib as indicated by the spaces 21 in Figure 6 which illustrates the punch 22 in the lower limit position. Furthermore, the uppermost corners of the ribs of the recess may be spaced considerably from the uppermost corners of the punch as indicated at 2B. It will be obvious that if, in such cases, a driver is used having a bit shaped identically with the punch nib 23 thcn the bit Will contact with the recess only along the lower portion thereof. The driving torque will therefore be concentrated toward the lower portions of the bit vanes and will result in excessive wear of the bit at such points. The edges of the bit vanes may become rounded within a relatively short period of use and as soon as this occurs the useful life of the driver is ended.

Aethe punch. S3 iskiiven. be iiSf loviihiost DOSir tion thebd@ uponbig .forced mi@ ihuppel' surface of the screw head causes a corresponding'displacement ofthe metal immediately adjacent't'he upperiend of the recess. Such displacement. Qf imei-a1 Lwill tend i0 `esce?, first ie the"direetion'ftoward the "nib because of the foi-leeft; limp' 'ctl is' in y,dienaar position" @fj the punch pjeetios thereupon' 'withdrawn of the punch therecesshle'ftin` the head of the screwblank lwill"efo'rrn accurately to the shape and dimensions of the punch. It will be obvious that if the driver bit is of the same shape and sine lasthe Apunch projection then the driver bit will t snugly into the screwfrecesswith a sufficient frictional resistance therebetween for causingwiirm adherence ofthe`- screw onto the end of the druiverua Furthermorain view ofthe ofthe screw'rec'es are conpletelyl and accurately fo'r1ned,"surface f maximumfarea are provided for "engagement by' cooperating vanesof the driverfbit. The 'to'tal'"torque force is therefore 1 distributed uniformly" @over "relatively large areas of the sidewalls'of Athe screw recess instead or being 'ccperitra'teuatpoints bfiimited area. The driver bit life'is thus 'increased to a maximum with no undue wear created by faulty formation of the screw recess.

It is not essential that the bead 34 surrounding the base of the nib 35 be circular in shape for effecting a swaging of the metal of the head back toward the punch since such swaging may be effected by relatively low protuberant portions of other shape provided in the punch head adjacent the edge of the recess to be formed. It is preferred, however, to make the bead circular in shape because of other and independent advantages which are accomplished by the circular marking thus formed upon the head of the screw surrounding the recess.

Equally important to the formation of a recess conforming exactly to the dimensions of the punch is the matter of forming the recess concentrically with the shank of the screw blank. Due to the irregular shape of the recess it is inherently diflicult to measure the concentricity relative to the shank with any ordinary tools. With cumbersome laboratory equipment such a determination may be made but it is impractical for the machine operator to take samples of screws following each minor adjustment to the laboratory for checking because of the long delay or long shut down period which would be necessitated. Because of the fact that the groove IB is concentric with the recess the circular groove forms a convenient reference marking against which the accuracy of alignment of the recess itself may be checked. For example, in Figure 8 is illustrated a simple tool or gauge which may be carried in the pocket of the machine setter and which may be used with excellent results. ThS gauge consists of a block er mass offrrietalfifeduiredfto beinved in t mack' 'fagainstth "surface 'for 'the l surface" for cooperatively" evi'" f gauge needle will curateur of 'the gr 4u" tapage falegnami'.

thesiiaii1 of thescjrew is determined; T h establishes the' 'fact that' the lcingitudinal"` ax icngitudinai 'axis of the screw blame If the other hand, the 'recess is eccentrically in respect `to the shank `4 I then the pointL rotation of the `screw blank. By rtion groove `tti!V `the eccentr'icit'y fof "the" screw the sidewall of thegroovef fasfrthe` blank is rotated. This "binding "acti readily be noted by the fsensefofV touch fmakmgf it unnecessary `to visuallyV observe fthe 'relation' betweenthe end or" the gauge needle" andthe i groove as the screw blankis turned. j

Moreover, eccentricity whole, to the screw shank may be more Ieasily observed Aby virtue of groove 48, since the head is eccentric while the recess is concentric, the variation in the spacing of the groove from the periphery of the head will be readily apparent.

While the foregoing description has been made with particular reference to round headed screws it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not to be necessarily so limited in that the advantages following from the present invention are inherent irrespective of the particular size or shape of the screw head, although they are of greater importance in connection with certain types as pointed out above.

Certain defects may be more prominent is some types of screwsthan in others. For example, in the manufacture of fiat headed screws there is a certain tendency for the peripheral edge of the screw head to be flattened. Figure 9 is a plan View illustrating a nat headed type of screw 5D the peripheral edge of which though normally intended to be perfectly circular is attened in certain portions as indicated at 5|. When manufactured according to prior practice and without the circular groove 52 the defective peripheral edge can readily escape `visual detection because of the optical illusion created by the cruciform plan shape of the recess and the peripheral edge of the head. By the provision of the circular groove surrounding the recess the variations in distance between the groove and the peripheral edge becomes readily noticeable.

A further defect which may be readily observed by visual inspection is one created by lack of parallelism between the longitudinal axis of the punch and the longitudinal axis of the shank of the screw blank` It is extremely difficult to defmr the end cf the gaugeiint the bottom @ferie m tect such a defect in a screw manufactured according to prior practice but it may readily be determined by mere visual inspection of the screw head when formed according to the present invention. In Figure 10 is illustrated in plan view a screw head defectively made, which is indicated by the` fact that the circular groove 6| is of greater depth at one side of the screw head 60 than at the other side 62. This variation in depth is clearly indicated by the greater Width of the groove at the deeperside than at the shallower side. This clearly indicates that the longitudinal axis of the punch extends at an angle inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shank and upon the observance of such defect compensation may readily be made by proper adJustment of the heading machine.

Having described the invention in what are considered to be certain preferred embodiments thereof it is desired that it be understood that the specific details shown are merely illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: Y

1. A screw having a relatively deep punched recess of generally cruciform plan in the head thereof, and a relatively shallow circular groove punched in said head simultaneously with the punching of said recess, at least some of the side Walls of said recess lying in planes substantiallyY parallel to the longitudinal axis of said recess, said groove being concentric with said axis and relatively closely adjacent the outermost portions of said recess, and said groove being concentric with the shank of said screw.

2. The method of manufacturing screws and like fastening devices having recesses of cruciform plan punched in the head thereof, comprising driving a recess forming punch into the upset end of the screw blanks, and toward the end of the punching stroke punching an annular second recess, concentric to the axis of said first recess. into the upper surface of the partially formed head for forcing the side Walls of the rst recess into firm engagement with the surface of the punch, and then checking the alignment `of said rst recess with the longitudinal axis of the screw blank by determining the concentricity of said second recess with the shank of said blank.

3. The method of punching recesses of `generally cruciform plan in the heads of screws and like devices which comprises driving a recess forming punch into the upset end of the screw y blanks, and toward the end of the punching stroke punching a second recess into the upper surface of the partially formed head for forcing the sidewalls of the rst recess into rm engagement with the surface of the punch.A

HERMAN G. MUENCHINGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: Y f- UNITED STATES PATENTS 

